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Dead Girls Talking
The town of Wolf Ridge calls him The Smiley Face Killer. Bettina Holland calls him her father.
Everyone knows Bettina's father was the one who murdered her mother a decade ago. It's the subject of podcasts, murder tours, and even a highly anticipated docuseries. But after growing up grappling with what that means, a string of copycat murders forces Bett to answer a harder question: What if he didn't?
Old-money Bett must team up with the only person willing to investigate alongside her: bookish goth girl Eugenia, the mortician's daughter, who everyone says puts the makeup on corpses. Can this "true crime princess" unmask a murderer who's much closer to home than she ever imagined?
Gritty, gripping, and propulsive from page one, Dead Girls Talking is a ride for readers who love to see girls get their hands dirty as they claw their way to the truth. Peterson's knife-sharp thriller cuts deep, with a wicked sense of humor, a wire-taut atmosphere, and a deadly serious approach to bigger issues of justice and female anger.
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These book club questions are from The Future of Agency.
Book club questions for Dead Girls Talking by Megan Cooley Peterson
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Dead Girls Talking touches on the harm caused sometimes by the true crime community. How did this change your perception of some well-known true crime stories online? Which real-life cases come to mind?
How did the setting and atmosphere of the book affect the mood and tone of the story? Did it create any feelings of danger, mystery, dread or unease for you?
How did you react to the killer carving smiley faces on their victims? Why do you think the killer does this?
Bettina often handles difficult feelings with rage and self destructive behaviors. Why do you think this is? Do you relate to her reactions? Why or why not?
What do you think of Bettina’s relationship with Xavier? Do you think they’re good for each other? How did your perception of Xavier change throughout the book?
Do you think Bettina was right to stop being friends with Nat? Why or why not? In your experience, is this true to typical teenage friendships?
Bettina and Eugenia seem like unlikely friends. Why do you think they get along so well? What does Eugenia provide for Bettina that no one else can?
The town Bettina lives in is very divided by class. Bettina’s own grandparents come from “old money.” How do you think wealth has affected Bettina’s family and their relationships with one another? How do you think it affects the town’s perception of her family?
This novel shows that the local police department isn’t reliable or trustworthy when it comes to solving murder cases. What do you think is behind their lack of interest in solving this case?
What did you think of Bettina’s father? Did you sympathize with him at all at any point in the story? Did you think he was telling the truth?
How did you think the book was going to end? Were you surprised by the ending?
Dead Girls Talking Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the Dead Girls Talking discussion questions
"Spine-tingling."--Booklist
"Engrossing. This is a book you won't want to put down."--Crystal J. Bell, author of The Lamplighter